Are our doods sicker?

[Tammy & Gracie]

Okay, just a theoretical question. I was up with Gracie during the night with tummy troubles. We spent the entire morning at the vet's office. We are, who knows how many hundreds of dollars into another illness, this time undefined. I am at home with antibiotics, stomach medicine, wet food and a dog with a huge bubble of fluids on her neck to absorb. We are resting the stomach today and will try to feed tomorrow. Blood and urine tests were ok. I have xrays and records to take to the emergency clinic if needed over the rest of the weekend. There is a tiny "something" in her stomach that should be small enough to pass, looks like no obstruction but when feeding I will add a little fiber to her food to aid in it's passing. If I had to guess, I would say that it is a tiny shred of nylabone.We will just wait it out and hope the rest of the weekend is uneventful.

Okay, my question is, are our doods sickly or is it just that we are very caring dood parents who check every little thing out??? It seems we have a huge share of health troubles although it may just be because we communicate about each moment of our doods lives...Any opinions out there?

[Lori and Sadie]

Indeed, I think that those of us Doodle owners who are really truly into our dogs and loyal to their breeds are most likely to be on the forum and discussing their health issues, whereas someone who is not as avid about their dog/breed would just go with the flow and what the vet may tell them.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I don't think vaccinations are the issue but that's based on my opinion s about the benefit/ risk ratio in humans. I personally believe the benefits far out weigh the risks. I also don't take my dogs to the vet every time they vomit etc. and I have been fortunate that neither the 16 mo. old or 6 mo.old, who are both ALD, have been to the vet for other than routine visits. One time Luca vomited shards of bone but I just watched him and he was fine after that. No more bones needless to say. I am a relatively new dog owner but I cared for my son's purebred standard poodle towards the end of his life and sad to say he died at 8 of a rare and very malignant skin tumor. I think doodles are probably not more sickly than other dogs but it would be interesting to have some facts.

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

I have a Gracie Doodle...she is a Goldendoodle! Gracie is 2 years 3 months and has been as healthy as an Ox. She is a very tall Standard Doodle and weighs 70 lbs. She also comes from a breeder who owns both the mother and father and they live on site with her. They are papered purebreds and the lineage goes back four generations. We do not feed her any human food or table scraps. She only gets her dry dog food and her treats are the fresh Chicken Jerkey strips and the round disks. No additives are in these...just dried chicken!! I am careful when she is chewing on things to take it away once it becomes small pieces. I have heard that even the stuffing in the toys can be bad if they should swallow it. When we had our Lab he loved the "Greenies" and we were told that they are not good for the dogs. The Greenies just ball up into a big glob of goo in their stomachs. I somehow think that a Nylabone would not be a good thing for a dog to swallow. I do think that we are very caring Dood parents. They are such special and wonderful dogs that we become totally protective of them and constantly monitor their every move...at least I do. When we had out Lab I never gave it a thought. Though I do have to admit that he was my husband's dog...he was the one who brought him home against my wishes and sort of thrust him upon me at a time when I we had teenagers in high school and no time for a dog. Also, he did not receive the proper training from my husband so he had "issues" that I did not like. He had a bit of an edge about him. I was so done with dogs and said I would never have another one. Then I got the Doodle bug and started my research for one year before we decided to get Gracie. I was the one who pursued it and I was the one, and still am, who has worked with her and done all the training. We both love her with all our hearts but because she is my "baby" and I know every thing about her and her habits. And you are also right that we do communicate about each moment of our Dood's lives...absolutely for sure!!!!! Doodlekisses is a very unique group of people and we have very unique dogs. So, you asked for opinions?

[Lee Seidman]

You mentioned Gracie might have a small blockage from Nylabone. Please see my blog on Nyla Bone...............That product needs to be banned and recalled from the market. It is dangerous, worse then rawhide.

[Kyoko]

I agree. Now they have "Causion" put on thier product, but still, it should not be on market. Especially, they are flavored, enticing them to "Chomp" on it, off cause they will swallow that!

[Tammy & Gracie]

Well, Gracie is better this morning. She pretty much slept all day and night yesterday. Early evening I took her outside and she peed and pooped, pretty normal with no diarhea. I sure was glad to see there was no obstruction. It's been a few hours since I fed her this morning and the food and medicine is still down.

In fact, she is lying on the floor seriously chewing her nylabone. It is a good thing - she feels good enough to play. It is a bad thing - I just read all the nylabone info mentioned in that previous post.

I am a little confused. The articles said the pieces do not show up on x rays. Ther was "something" on her xray in her stomach. The peices she breaks off are very small, just little shreds maybe the size of and ant. Her bones are not the chewable type. They are very hard plastic, maybe what they call "Big Chews". Gracie is a hugely powerful chewer. The indestructable Kongs are snacks for her. Oh well, the nylabone will be picked up and destroyed momentarily. She is also on a special diet right now (venison and potato), so no natural bones are allowed. Although I have an elk antler. I do not give it to her because of the smell and nastiness of the bone after she's had it for awhile. An elk is in the deer family?

Well, anyway she is better. I will keep her resting today (no usual Sunday morning hikes and lake swimming in the park). All in all, maybe this was just a stomach bug!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Tammy, I'm glad Gracie is feeling better. I hope she continues to improve and there is no further issue.
I don't think it is correct that the nylabone pieces never show up on x-rays. I think it depends where in the stomach the piece may be, and that's also going to affect whether an inedible substance gets passed with the fecal material or becomes an obstruction that has to be surgically removed.
Anyway, I hope everything continues to go well for Gracie and there are no more health issues!

[Linda,Yankee & Finn]

Hope Gracie is feeling better soon.

[Tammy & Gracie]

Yes, Gracie is well now. Back to her old devilish self. It was really heartbreaking watching this highly energetic girl lay around and sleep for 2 days. But, yeah, no surgery! And her nylabones are all now history!

[Staci & Simon]

Hey Tammy! I hope Gracie is doing better by now:) Have you found the root of her problems yet?

I just stumbled across your post and thought I'd comment. We have a 15 mos. old Australian Multi-Gen Labradoodle. We did tons of research on the dogs themselves as well as breeders before we brought Simon home. Like most others we spent a lot of money for a healthy, non-shedding, great temperament dog. We got 2 out of 3. Our dog has had health problems since day one. After 10 mos of tests & $3200 he was finally diagnosed (via an endoscopy) w/Inflammatory Bowel Disease. It's an uphill battle EVERY DAY.
Anyway, we have friends that have our same type of dog (diff. breeder) who also has some serious digestive issues. So, in my opinion, doods aren't as healthy as the breeders would like us to believe. Actually, they don't seem to be any healthier than any other breeds. I feel like I could have adopted a free mutt and gotten a healthier dog. But, Simon just has the sweetest personality and I wouldn't trade him for anything!

Sorry for venting!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I agree 100%, Staci. You have every right to vent, and I hope Simon is doing well.

[Tammy & Gracie]

Yeah, we all need to vent now and then. That's why we come here, right? Anyway, Grace is fine now from the tummy troubles. Don't know what caused it but at least it's over. My sister has IBS and is often miserable. Is it controlled in your dood by medication?